Railcar Coupling Aid and Method of Using the Same

ABSTRACT

A railcar coupling aid is provided to link a sequentially aligned pair of railcars having unactuated couplers so that such couplers may become engaged on a portion of rail more conducive to their actuation or so that such couplers may be serviced at a more convenient location along the rail. It may comprise a first and second length of rugged and flexible material spaced apart by a first and second crossed portion of such material. The crossed portions define a space configured to receive both of a pair of opposing coupler draw heads therethrough. When the net is draped over the opposing draw heads, each of the first and second lengths may be secured to themselves around one each of the coupler&#39;s draw shafts. Thus, each railcar may be at least temporarily linked to one another in a manner that avoids risking injury to railworker limbs.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACT

Not applicable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT RE. FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARK NOTICES

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show and/or describe matter which is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights and trade dress rights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter relates generally to methods and devices for connecting railcars and, more particularly, to nets operative to temporarily link unactuated railcar coupling devices that reduce risks typically associated with manually attending to such devices.

BACKGROUND

Locomotive cars may be joined together by a variety of different coupling devices and system. Knuckle couplers, also known as Janney couplers, buckeye couplers, or AAR (Association of American Railroad) couplers, among other names, are automatically actuating couplers that have been particularly popular since the nineteenth century because they avoid a need of railworkers to place any part of themselves between the couplers to join or disjoin them. An early example of such coupler type is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 138,405 issued to Janney. Until the invention of the knuckle coupler, coupling accidents comprised about 38% of all rail worker accidents, however, because the knuckle coupler is operative to automatically engage, and further because it may be disengaged without needing a rail worker to step between railcars, coupler accidents were successfully reduced to about 4% of all rail worker accidents by the early twentieth century.

Though knuckle couplers generally include many advantages over other coupler types, one significant disadvantage of using the knuckle coupler is that sometimes draw heads configured to link each of a pair of couplers to one another must be manually aligned by railworkers prior to engagement. This may be necessary, for example, when rail cars are sequentially aligned on a curved or even inclined portion of track. Of course, requiring railworkers to manually align couplers to account for this may pose some danger to the railworkers themselves.

Some proposals have been suggested to solve this problem. For example, some railworkers may manually push the railcars along the track until the couplers are sufficiently aligned to actuate or at a location where the couplers can be repaired, as the case may be. Unfortunately, this simple solution may take significant time in trial and error. Furthermore, railcars may weigh as much as, if not more than, 33 tons when empty. Attempting to physically alter their position at all puts undesirable strain on the body of any railworkers pushing the cars in addition to dangerously maintaining such railworkers' presence between moving railcars.

Others have suggested accessories for linking the unactuated or even broken drawheads. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,892,619 to Hudgins discloses an emergency coupling device comprising a chain that must be strategically looped around portions of the coupler draw head. Using chain, however, poses its own risks to the railworker. In particular, chains are heavy and place undue strain on the railworker manipulating the chain. Manipulating the chain or similar devices may cause bodily discomfort and even repetitive motion injuries. Loose ends and slack portions are also at risk of becoming dangerously caught in other railcar parts or on the body of the railworker. If the chain fails for any reason at all, it may project shrapnel and other dangerous debris.

Others still have suggested wrapping single length straps to portions of a coupler system to create a temporary linkage between them. Some straps may be wrapped around and beneath unactuated draw heads, for instance. This is problematic, however, because it risks placing railworker limbs between the draw heads where such limbs might be crushed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,432 to Pryor teaches a strap for temporarily coupling and moving a disabled railcars which are deployed to the side of the coupler assembly. However, this proposal is still deficient for concentrating tensile force on a single side of the coupler assembly. This may make it more difficult to centrally align the draw heads. Additionally, the arrangement may place uneven stress and strain on the strap, which in turn may decrease its life cycle. The reference also prescribes manipulating the strap with a ratchet device which can be time consuming and heavy to operate.

Thus, there remains a need for a device and method to aid the safe manual coupling of railcars.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to railcar coupling aids. In an embodiment, the railcar coupling aid may be formed as a net defined by rugged and flexible segmented portions securely attached to one another in a manner operative to link unactuated draw heads, and railcars as a result, to one another while avoiding a need of railworkers to subject their limbs to the risk of becoming crushed between such draw heads.

For purposes of summarizing, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features have been described. It is to be understood that not all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment. Thus, the disclosed subject matter may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages without achieving all advantages as may be taught or suggested.

In accordance with one embodiment, a net comprising the railcar coupling aid may comprise a first and second length of material spaced apart by a first and second crossed portion of such material. Means for securing some portion of each length to itself may also be provided. In some embodiments such means may comprise meshable hook and loop fasteners.

The lengths and crossed portions may be fabricated from rugged materials suitable for towing heavy objects. In some embodiments, the material may comprise para aramid fibers, which are known to be heat resistant and durable. Other possible materials may be high modulus polyetherlyne (“HMPE”), and industrial yarns such as polyester, nylon, rayon, polypropylene and even combinations of the same. These are of course offered by way of example only and not limitation. these materials and still relatively lightweight and easy to manipulate in comparison to other materials including, for example, metal chains.

The crossed portions of the net may be arranged to define a space operative to receive both of a pair of opposing railcar coupler draw heads therethrough. In practice, the net may be draped over the opposing draw heads so that one each of the first and second lengths of the net rest on one each of the respective draw shafts of the opposing couplers. In addition, each of the first and second lengths may be secured to themselves around one each of the coupler's draw shafts. In general, draw heads are larger than draw shafts, therefore, it is contemplated that securing each length to itself around opposing coupler draw shafts may prevent the net from slipping over the larger coupler assembly and causing the sequentially aligned railcars to become unlinked.

Having received both of the draw heads between the space defined by the crossed portions, each crossed portion may fall to one side each of both of the opposing coupler draw heads. In other words, each crossed portion may rest relatively horizontally along the length of both opposing coupler draw heads between each of the first and second lengths of the net. When the device is in use, this arrangement may desirably enable distribution of tensile forces, resulting from the movement of the railcars, both in a horizontal direction corresponding to at least the length of opposing draw heads together as well as in a vertical direction corresponding to at least the height of each draw shaft among at least four resilient segments comprising the crossed portions of the net. This arrangement beneficially distributes all of the tensile forces among each segmented portion of the exemplary net among each segmented in multiple directions around the aligned draw heads.

In this manner, the railcar coupling aid may operatively link a sequentially aligned pair of railcars having so that any unactuated or broken couplers may be engaged on a portion of rail more conducive to their actuation or so that such couplers may be serviced at a more convenient location along the rail. Thus, each railcar may be at least temporarily linked to one another in a manner that avoids risking injury to railworker limbs.

As such, it is an object of the invention to aid draw head alignment and enable automatic coupler actuation.

It is another object of the invention to prevent injury to any railworkers in the event that the coupling aid experiences failure.

It is still another object of the invention to decrease risk of repetitive motion injuries.

It is yet another object of the invention to decrease the amount of time required to align coupler draw heads and cause them to actuate.

It is another object of the invention to provide a safety device operative to prevent railcar decoupling.

It is another object of the invention to avoid a need of exposing railworker limbs to possibly injurious portions of a railcar coupler assembly.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a lightweight method that decreases the risk of work place injuries, including repetitive motion injuries, associated with aligning railcar couplers.

One or more of the above-disclosed embodiments, in addition to certain alternatives, are provided in further detail below with reference to the attached figures. The disclosed subject matter is not, however, limited to any particular embodiment disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a railcar coupling aid in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate a method of using the railcar coupling aid to link opposing coupler draw heads in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows an overhead plan view of the railcar coupling aid operatively linking opposing coupler draw heads in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

The disclosed embodiments may be better understood by referring to the figures in the attached drawings, as provided below. The attached figures are provided as non-limiting examples for providing an enabling description of the method and system claimed. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered as limiting of its scope. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without some of the details included in order to provide a thorough enabling description of such embodiments. Well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus

The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled, but not mechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more mechanical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not electrically or otherwise coupled; two or more electrical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not electrically or otherwise coupled. Coupling (whether mechanical, electrical, or otherwise) may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi-permanent or only for an instant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, reference will now be made in detail to that which is illustrated in the drawings. While the disclosure will be described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. Rather, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

In an embodiment, the railcar coupling aid may be a modified net defined by rugged and flexible segmented portions securely attached to one another in a manner operative to link unactuated draw heads to one another while avoiding a need of railworkers to risk crushing their limbs or appendages between such draw heads.

In FIG. 1, for example, the railcar coupling aid may be a net 100 comprising a parallel first and second length 102 a, 102 b spaced apart by a first and second crossed portion 104 a, 104 b. Means for securing the net on or around unactuated coupler draw heads is also provided. For instance, a portion of each length 102 a, 102 b may comprise securably meshable hook 106 a, 106 b and loop 108 a, 108 b fasteners. In the figures, such hook 106 a, 106 b and loop 108 a, 108 b fasteners are disposed on opposite ends and sides of each length 102 a, 102 b so that when the net 100 is respectively draped over opposing coupler draw shafts, in an exemplary manner described in further detail below, each length may be effectively meshed with itself to at least temporarily link a pair of sequentially aligned rail cars to one another.

Each of the crossed portions 104 a, 104 b as well as any means for securing the net 100 on around unactuated coupler draw heads may be secured to each length 102 a, 102 b by any desirable means, such as stitching. In this case, each crossed portion 104 a, 104 b has been stitched to itself in addition to each length 102 a, 102 b, which may reinforce the strength of each crossed portion 104 a, 104 b. Of course, one skilled in the art will recognize that various factors may contribute to the strength of each seam that secures portions of the net 100. Thus, the particular type of stitch used, seam construction, number of stitches per inch of seam, thread type and size, and even stitch tension may be subject to individualized considerations related to, for example, the weight and dimensions of a particular type of railcar and/or railcar coupler, and even towing capacity of material comprising the net. As such, the particular method of joining elements comprising the railcar coupling aid should not limit the invention. Indeed, it is contemplated that the portions of the net 100 may be strategically knotted to one another, or even glued, such as with shock and impact resistant glue as well as other high strength adhesives.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate an exemplary method of linking a pair of sequentially aligned railcars 110 a, 110 b via their opposing couplers. With reference to FIG. 2, Each coupler comprises, generally, a draw head 122 a, 122 b, also known as a draw gear, extending outward from the railcar 110 a, 110 b by way of a draw shaft 124 a, 124 b. It should be noted that the particular form of the draw head is immaterial for the functioning of the disclosed method and apparatus. Each draw head 122 a, 122 b may formed as any of a variety of types of those automatic coupler heads known to those skilled in the art the art. For instance an exemplary embodiment of an automatic knuckle coupler is depicted in the drawings. These go by many names in the industry and even vary within types. As such, the couplers in the figures are shown for the sake of example only, not limitation.

It is contemplated that providing and applying an aid according to the disclosure may allow railworkers to at least temporarily link unactuated coupler draw heads with one another while avoiding risks associated with personal manipulation of such parts. That is, the device may enable a railworker to move sequentially aligned rail cars to a portion of railroad that is more conducive to actuating opposing coupler draw heads or even to a portion of railroad that is available for them to perform maintenance on broken couplers without risk to their limbs.

More particularly, and with continued reference to FIG. 2, the net 100 comprising an embodiment of the railcar coupling aid may be draped over the top of the opposing draw heads 122 a, 122 b so that each one each of the parallel first and second lengths 102 a, 102 b of the net 100 may correspondingly rest along a portion of one each of the opposing coupler draw shafts 124 a, 124 b. Then, with reference to FIGS. 3-5, each length 102 a, 102 b may be securely wrapped upon itself around its respective draw shaft 124 a, 124 b. Because the lengths 102 a, 102 b of the net 100 are secured in a direction that is normal to typical railcar motion, there is a decreased risk that means for securing each length 102 a, 102 b will fail when the net is subject to pulling and pushing forces delivered by moving railcars.

It should be noted that the coupler draw heads 122 a, 122 b are in general larger in any or all of height, width, and length, relative to any or all of the height, width, and length of each draw shaft 124 a, 124 b. This may be seen more clearly with reference to the exemplary overhead view of the secured railcar coupling aid in FIG. 6. Positioning each of the first and second parallel lengths 102 a, 102 b in this manner may ensure that such securely wrapped lengths 102 a, 102 b may be prevented from sliding over the relatively larger draw heads 122 a, 124 b, which might otherwise undesirably cause the sequentially aligned pair of rail cars to become unlinked.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that even automatic railcar couplers, such as the exemplary knuckle couplers depicted in the figures, may be differently shaped. It is contemplated that the railcar coupling aid will be applicable to innumerable variations on automatic coupler design. As just one example, some couplers include a tapered portion joining the draw head and draw shaft. In such a case, it may be desirable to wrap each length 102 a, 102 b around a portion of the coupler assembly that is relatively smaller in volume than any portion of the draw heads 122 a, 122 b, so that the net 100 may be prevented from slipping over the opposing draw heads 122 a, 122 b and causing the sequentially aligned pair of railcars to become unlinked, especially while in motion.

Similarly, the particular dimensions of the parallel first and second lengths as well as the dimensions and positioning of the crossed portions may vary. For instance, it may be beneficial to provide longer first and second lengths to wrap around opposing railcar couplers having shafts that are relatively broader than other shafts being used in the field. Likewise, crossed portions may be formed at different angles with themselves and secured at different positions along the parallel first and second lengths to accommodate longer, taller, and/or broader draw heads or vice versa, as the case may be.

It is contemplated that securely aligning at least one of the crossed portions near an end of the parallel lengths may ease use of the device by eliminating at least one tail end.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, as a result of applying the railcar coupling aid in the manner described, each crossed portion 104 a of the net 100 may be relatively horizontally draped between each length along opposite sides of the opposing coupler draw heads 122 a, 122 b as in FIGS. 3-5. It is contemplated that arranging the crossed portions 104 a, 104 b in this manner desirably distributes tensile forces both in a horizontal direction corresponding to at least the length of opposing draw heads 122 a, 122 b together as well as in a vertical direction corresponding to the height of each draw shaft 124 a, 124 b among at least four resilient segments comprising the crossed portions 104 a, 104 b, depending on the particular construction of the net 100. Furthermore, tensile forces are distributed on both a benefit is that all tensile forces are distributed around the aligned draw heads, rather than from a certain side or angle. Even further, such forces may be dispersed among each segmented portion of the device in many directions.

In the exemplary embodiment, meshable hook 106 a, 106 b and loop 108 a, 108 b fasteners comprise the means for fastening the railcar coupling aid around opposing draw shafts 124 a, 124 b. In FIG. 3, for example, it may be seen that the loop 108 a, 108 b portion faces outward from each draw shaft 124 a, 124 b along each length 102 a, 102 b draped thereon, while a hook potion faces inward toward each draw shaft 124 a, 124 b. Arranged as such, the hook and loop fasteners are configured to be meshable with one another when each length 102 a, 102 b is wrapped upon itself around its respective draw shaft 124 a, 124 b. Of course, the hook 106 a, 106 b and loop 108 a, 108 b fasteners may be arranged so that each hook 106 a, 106 b portion faces outward from each draw shaft 124 a, 124 b while each loop 108 a, 108 b portion faces inward.

In some embodiments, hook 106 a, 106 b and loop 108 a, 108 b fasteners may be implemented as the means for securing the railcar coupling aid to the opposing couplers for their ease of use and relative ruggedness over other fasteners available in the marketplace. One skilled in the art, however, will of course recognize that other means for fastening the rail car coupling aid, such as clasps, snaps, zippers, and knots are possible.

Additionally, construction of the net provides additional benefits of being lightweight and easy to manipulate, relative to chains and other accessories used for such purposes, while avoiding any need of placing any portion of their limbs, such as hands and fingers, between or beneath joining portions of opposing draw heads.

In some embodiments, material comprising the various elements of the railcar coupling aid my be flexible, for easy manipulation about opposing draw heads, and resilient so that it may be reliably reused. In some embodiments, heat resistant fibers may be preferred. In some embodiments, synthetic woven fibers may be fabricated in a manner that is sufficiently flexible and resilient to practice the invention. For instance, woven para-aramid fibers. One type of para aramid fiber available in the marketplace is Kevlar®. In particular, woven Kevlar® may be preferred because of its high tensile strength of about 3,620 MPa while being a relatively light woven fiber. This may be desirable since railcars are known to be so heavy. Additionally, heat transfer through Kevlar is slower than that of, for example, cotton or leather textiles making it safer for railworkers to handle the net directly after use. Other materials suitable to comprise the railcar coupling aid may be other para aramid fibers, high modulus polyetherlyne (“HMPE”), and industrial yarns such as polyester, nylon, rayon, polypropylene and even combinations of the same.

Particular dimensions defining the elements of the device may vary depending, for example, on the type of coupler joining railcars, among other things. As one example however, each of the lengths 102 a, 102 b and crossed portions 104 a, 104 b may each comprise woven straps about two (2) inches to about five (5) inches wide. Each length may be about 40 inches to about 60 inches in order to accommodate at least the perimeter of the draw shaft 124 a, 124 b, and the distance between each length 102 a, 102 b may be about 25 inches to about 40 inches so that each crossed portion may drape across at least the entire length of the opposing draw heads 102 a, 102 b.

Of course, one skilled in the art will recognize that the crossed portions 104 a, 104 b appear at least slightly slack in the figures. It is contemplated that arranging the net 100 to avoid constant tension in the crossed portions 104 a, 104 b may increase its life cycle. Still, in the event that the net 100 does fail under tension, it is unlikely that a railworker will be seriously injured, especially in the event that a relatively inelastic material is used to comprise the net.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.

Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of equivalents.

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications are contemplated and can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the position of the crossed portions relative to any ends of the parallel first and second lengths defining the net may vary. Additionally, specifications related to the manufacture and/or fabrication of the materials, including any fasteners, comprising the railcar coupling aid may vary based on a variety of factors known to those skilled in the art, which may themselves depend on the type of railcar and/or coupling assembly subject to the aid. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited, except as by the appended claim(s).

The teachings disclosed herein may be applied to other systems, and may not necessarily be limited to any described herein. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.

Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being refined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the railcar coupling aid and method of using the same with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be constructed to limit the railcar coupling aid and method of using the same to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification unless the above description section explicitly define such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the disclosed system, method and apparatus. The above description of embodiments of the railcar coupling aid and method of using the same is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the precise form disclosed above or to a particular field of usage.

While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the method, system, and apparatus are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible for which those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

While certain aspects of the method and system disclosed are presented below in particular claim forms, various aspects of the method, system, and apparatus are contemplated in any number of claim forms. Thus, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the railcar coupling aid and method of using the same. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A railcar coupling aid, comprising: a first and a second length of rugged and flexible material spaced apart by a first and second crossed portion of rugged and flexible material, each crossed portion securely attached to said first and second lengths; and means for releasably securing each of the first and second lengths to themselves respectively; wherein the first and second crossed portions define a space sized to receive both of a pair of opposing draw heads comprising a railcar coupler therethrough.
 2. The railcar coupling aid of claim 1, wherein the rugged and flexible material is selected from woven para aramid fibers, high modulus polyetherlyne, and industrial polyester, nylon, rayon, and polypropylene yarns.
 3. The railcar coupling aid of claim 1, wherein the means for releasably securing each of the first and second lengths to themselves comprise hook and loop fasteners.
 4. The railcar coupling aid of claim 3, wherein the loop fasteners are secured to one side of each length and the hook fasteners are secured to an opposite side of each length such that the hook and loop fasteners are operative to secure a portion of each length to itself as a ring.
 5. A method of linking a pair of sequentially aligned railcars having unactuated couplers, comprising: draping a railcar coupling aid over both of a pair of opposing coupler draw heads such that the pair of opposing coupler draw heads is received through a portion of the railcar coupling aid; and securing a portion of the railcar coupling to itself around one each of a pair of opposing coupler draw shafts.
 6. The method of linking a pair of sequentially aligned railcars having unactuated couplers of claim 5, wherein the railcar coupling aid comprises a first and a second length of rugged and flexible material spaced apart by a first and second crossed portion of rugged and flexible material, each crossed portion securely attached to said first and second lengths; and means for releasably securing each of the first and second lengths to themselves around one each of the opposing coupler draw shafts. 